1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to communication devices and more particularly, to apparatus and methods for dialing telephone numbers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional telephones include a numeric keypad for dialing telephone numbers. Individual keys on the keypad are sometimes labeled with both a number and some alphabetic letters. For example, some conventional telephone keypads include the letters “A”, “B”, and “C” on the same key that is labeled “2”, and the letters “D”, “E”, and “F” on the same key that is labeled “3”, and so on in a well-known manner. Such labeling may facilitate the dialing of a telephone number that is known by a sequence of both numeric and alphabetic characters. For example, the telephone number “1 800 FLOWERS” may be dialed by pressing the keys associated with the numbers and letters in the telephone number, which conventionally is associated with the numeric sequence “1 800 356 9377”.
The integration of telephone functionality with that of a personal information manager (PIM), personal data assistant (PDA), and/or a messaging device, has led to the need for more advanced user interfaces. Some telephones now include keyboards, such as a conventional QWERTY configured keyboard, that include both alphabetic keys and numeric keys.